Baritone Benjamin Appl, who was born in Bavaria and now performs in recitals and concerts around the world, was introduced to the music of Bach as a chorister at the age of 6. His new CD, titled simply “Bach”, does what Mr. Appl did here in Portland in January: Taking us, the audience, on a journey. His Portland “Heimat” recital was a journey of feelings for home and family; “Bach” is a journey through the Lutheran church calendar, which Bach followed through his life in his weekly cantatas. Appl describes Bach as containing “a huge ocean of emotions”, everything from pain in one’s heart during Holy Week; to light-hearted cheer in Bach’s secular cantatas written for Zimmermann’s Kaffeehaus in Leipzig! Hear more in program director John Pitman’s chat with Benjamin